The keyboard buyers’ guide I wrote a couple of years ago stands as a good introduction to buying a keyboard instrument for adults.

In this feature I will look specifically at buying a child their first “serious” electronic keyboard. If your child isn’t quite ready for this kind of keyboard yet, read ten toy pianos your child will love.

Introduction: My Story

Let me tell you a little of my musical upbringing to give you some ideas on the way forward for your child / potential musical genius. 🙂

I grew up in a home with an acoustic upright piano, which I started playing and picking out tunes on from a young age (3 or 4). From this my parents realised I had musical aptitude/talent, and I began taking classical-based piano lessons from around age 5.

I enjoyed this, and was incredibly blessed to have access to the piano (it’s probably why I love the acoustic piano, or as near as I can get to it, to this day). However, from the age of about 12, after seeing someone on stage playing some amazing synth lines and creating sound textures, I wanted to get into electronic music.

My parents agreed, and bought a fairly entry-level keyboard. However, it was enough to get me started in trying out new sounds, rhythms, and even doing some basic sequencing work on my computer.

The point to this is that, whether or not your child shows some interest and aptitude for music, and in particular a keyboard, it’s worth starting with a basic set up and building on that, rather than splashing out on an all-singing, all-dancing keyboard, digital piano, or even an acoustic piano, only for it to be a costly mistake.

Don’t Force Them – See The Interest

I fell in love with keyboard instruments because that’s what was around, but I wasn’t forced to play.

Fashions come and go. Guitars are cool, and many kids want to play them. Don’t force them to play one type of instrument they’re really not interested in. Having said that, if they show interest in a piano (I’ve seen a great many children who love to try to play things on the keyboard, and it’s (arguably) an easier instrument to begin learning/experimenting on than the guitar, especially for small fingers) then go for it.

Make It Fun!

Though you may pay a bit extra, or sacrifice a bit of sound quality, by getting a keyboard with plenty of features, it will make it fun for your child to play, experiment, and learn about music.

If they really get a taste for playing seriously, and when they’re a bit older, they’ll probably find out what kind of things they want their keyboard to do. In fact, if they’re anything like me, they’ll be down at the local music shop every Saturday eyeing up the next model, getting the specifications and the price, and working out how to introduce the concept of a new keyboard to you.

Which Manufacturers Are Best?

While this is a rather subjective question, my personal belief is that Yamaha makes some of the best sounding, feature-rich, value-for-money electronic keyboards around. (View a range of Yamaha Keyboards on Amazon.)

Casio also make decent enough keyboards, though for some reason they’ve always had a bit of a rough ride in the reputation stakes (at least, they were always joked about – maybe it’s because Casio makes calculators too, I don’t know). (View a range of Casio Keyboards on Amazon.)

Other manufacturers include Roland, Korg and M-Audio, but they tend to lean towards semi-professional and professional musical instruments and recording equipment.

Features To Look For

Here’s a non-exhaustive list of features that can be found on modern electronic keyboards, with a brief explanation. Generally, the more features you have, the more expensive the keyboard. However, even quite basic keyboards have a large number of features.

Number of Keys

Most home keyboards come with either 49 keys (4 octaves) or 61 keys (5 octaves). More keys equals more room for playing, or for splitting the keyboard between accompaniment and melody.

Type of Keys

Most home keyboards use thin plastic keys with a very light touch. This doesn’t mean they’re not durable, but they’re not heavy or hard to depress like the keys of a piano.

Touch Sensitivity

This determines whether hitting a key harder produces a louder and/or different sound. A lot of home keyboards do have some kind of touch sensitivity built in, though very cheap ones are “fixed velocity”.

The advantage of touch sensitivity is that it gives the ability to play with greater expression.

Sounds

Most keyboards come with a wide array of sounds, including real world acoustic and electric sounds, synthetic sounds, and sound effects.

Check the acoustic piano sounds if this is important – Yamaha in particular put a decent enough grand piano sound even on basic models though it will never sound as good as their thousands-of-dollars Clavinova.

Some acoustic sounds may not be great (horns in particular usually sound awful, guitars are often dubious) but may serve as a good introduction to making music. Strings are usually fairly good, and synth/sound effects are fun.

Pitch Bend/Modulation

A lot of home keyboards have a pitch bend wheel, usually located to the left of the keyboard. This allows notes to be “bent” up and down in pitch.

Some have modulation, which changes the colour or effect of a particular sound, though this is less common on entry-level keyboards.

Sustain Pedal

Many home keyboards have a jack input for adding a sustain pedal, used to hold the sound of played notes. Not all do. Some come with a pedal, others it’s an optional extra. Worth having particularly when playing piano sounds.

Polyphony

Polyphony measures how many sounds the keyboard can play at one time. The higher the polyphony, the less risk of notes being cut off, and also the more detailed accompaniments can be played. Every note of every sound, including those being sustained, counts towards polyphony. 32 is a decent entry-level value to look for. [Read more about polyphony]

Drum Pads

Some keyboards come with extra drum finger pads, located above the keys. They’re fun for playing or sequencing rhythm.

Auto-Accompaniment

Most home keyboards have at least some kind of automatic accompaniment. This usually includes drums, bass, guitar, or other accompaniment instruments.

Some have different patterns for song intros, outros, bridge, verse, chorus, etc.

Others allow you to record your own accompaniments, though this is usually on more expensive instruments.

Often seen just as a bit of fun, they can be quite useful for developing an initial appreciation of rhythm, and playing with other instrumentalists, even though they’re all pre-recorded and can be rather “staid”.

Interactive Learning

Many keyboards now come with some kind of built in learning system which can teach beginning players how to play notes and chords.

Though this adds to the cost, it can be useful for getting kids to learn the basics without having to pay for tuition, which could be expensive and wasted.

Recording/Sequencing

Some home keyboards offer basic recording of notes, accompaniment, and so on. Sequencing (recording multiple tracks and being able to edit notes) tend to be found only on more expensive keyboards, though it is often possible to connect cheaper keyboards to a PC or Mac via MIDI or USB, and use computer software to record and edit music.

MIDI/USB Connection to Computer/Other Instruments

Most keyboards have MIDI connectors. MIDI is a well-established standard for connecting musical instruments to each other, and to PCs.

Some newer keyboards also have USB interfaces, allowing direct connection to a PC or Mac.

This can be great for using music software, updating sounds, downloading material from the Internet to play on the keyboard, and more.

Possibly not essential for a young child, but does open up more possibilities.

Buy New or Second-Hand?

My personal preference would be to buy new, even if you buy a slightly older “end of line” model at a discount. Though keyboards can last a long time, you’ll get the best technology and pristine equipment by buying new. [Find a new keyboard]

If buying second-hand, be very sure what you’re getting and paying for. If possible, check the instrument out for yourself. Ensure all the keys and buttons work, and there’s no damage to the casing. Remember that these instruments depreciate in value quickly, so don’t be tricked into paying significant money for a keyboard, even one that’s just a year or two old.

Try Before You Buy

Though you often get the best deals on the Internet, it really is worth checking out a selection of keyboards at a local music store so that you can hear them, play with their features, and decide which one you like best.

What’s Around Now?

Bearing in mind that music technology advances very quickly, here are some of the latest, entry-level keyboards available (August 2013).

Yamaha PSR-E233 61-Key Portable Keyboard

The PSR-E233 features nearly 500 natural sounding voices, including a Stereo Grand Piano, 12 drum kits and a sound effect kit. The PSR-E233 also has a large number of accompaniment styles and built-in songs. Use the Portable Grand button to instantly call up an authentic stereo grand piano sound. The instrument also has a rich Reverb effect that adds concert-hall ambience to any performance. The Yamaha Education Suite feature makes learning and practicing music more fun than ever before.

Casio CTK-2100 61-Key Portable Electronic Keyboard with USB

The Casio CTK-2100 offers pure playing pleasure with 61 piano-style touch keys. Discover the instrument’s numerous features: whether you want to dive into a colourful world of 150 rhythms, use the sampling function together with the new Voice Pads or connect a CD or MP3 player via the audio input so that you can play along to your favourite song on the keyboard – the Casio CTK-2100 provides a huge range of features and functions. And the step-up learning system makes it easy to hear the progress made in your playing skills.

Casio CTK-3200 61-Key Touch Sensitive Electronic Keyboard with USB

The Casio CTK-3200 employs Casio’s new AHL sound source technology, which enables the realistic reproduction of a wide range of tones from acoustic instruments like the piano and more. The maximum polyphony of 48 notes — an improvement from 32 notes — ensures that no sound drops out, even when playing complex parts with auto-accompaniment. These Casio keyboards also feature piano-style keys to satisfy more users.

Yamaha YPT320 61-Key Touch-Sensitive Portable Keyboard

The YPT-320 is a touch sensitive instrument that features 482 dynamic, authentic voices, with 361 XGlite voices, 12 drum kits and a sound effect kit. The YPT-320 also has 106 accompaniment styles and 102 built-in songs. Music database with 100 songs-for instantly setting entire instrument to match a desired music genre. Special two-track Easy Recording feature lets you record and save up to five of your original songs – great for composing and practice purposes.

Casio WK-225 76-Key Electronic Keyboard

The Casio WK-225 Electronic Keyboard offers great tones, sampling, and lessons in one great keyboard! This WK-225 is amazing! Casio is showing how much they can fit in to this keyboard while offering at a price that makes it impossible to turn down.

51 thoughts on “My First Keyboard: Buying a child’s first electronic keyboard instrument”

To be honest, I haven’t investigated in depth the different educational software built in to each instrument. I’m not sure that the lighted keyboards offer a huge advantage, though perhaps they might be useful for younger children.

This is a very helpful website. I am looking to buy a keyboard for my 7 year old who seems to be very interested in piano, but I’m confused! Can you tell me what the difference is between the PSR323 and the YPT320? They seem to be the same but the price is slightly different. Can you also explain the education feature further?

You’re right. These two keyboards are near identical. In fact the only difference I can see (from looking at the specifications) is that the PSR-E323 is silver and the YPT-320 is “champagne gold” in casing colour!

As to the education features, I haven’t actually tried out Yamaha’s latest system directly, but here’s what Yamaha says of it:

“Song Lesson feature “Keys to Success”

You can practice the preset Songs using these lesson functions: “Keys to Success”, “Listening, Timing, Waiting” and “Phrase Repeat.” Keys to Success helps you master a Song, whereas Listening, Timing, Waiting helps you first master the timing then playing the correct notes. Phrase Repeat lets you select and repeatedly practice a specific phrase in the Song. In the “Keys to Success” mode, you can practice individual phrase separately. Each time you finish a specific Step, your score is shown in the display. Passing one Step (with a score of 60 or better) lets you go on to next one automatically.”

Hi Andy – our 4 1/2 year old son has been taking piano lessons for the past two months and we would like to get him something to practice on. I’m not sure I understand the difference (if any) between digital pianos and keyboards. Regardless, we live in NYC and want something that will fit in our son’s room. I was under the impression that it if the goal is for him to learn to play classical piano at some point, then we need a full size keyboard (88, correct) and properly weighted keys? I would like to spend under $300. Any advice?

When most people talk about a digital piano, they’re referring to a keyboard with at least 76 keys and some kind of weighting in those keys.

Conversely, many digital keyboards feature non-weighted keys (they are very light to the touch in comparison to a real piano). Many have 61 keys or less. They do often have many more functions on them, such as accompaniments, bigger range of sounds, and so on.

Having said that, the lines are constantly blurring.

I think it might be difficult to buy an 88-key weighted digital piano new for $300, though I did see some heavily discounted new on Amazon, so it could be done.

Longer term, and particularly for classical, jazz and some other styles of music in particular, an 88-key weighted digital piano would be very useful. At the moment, a 76-key version (which might be slightly cheaper) would suffice.

How does your son get on with whatever keyboard he is currently playing on? The weight does vary considerably between keyboards (as in fact it does between traditional acoustic pianos). While he is still quite young, it might be worth buying a keyboard that doesn’t have a very heavy feel to it. Having said that, I started playing real pianos with fairly heavy keys at a very young age.

Of course, if you want to get something you and your son like the feel of, then you will have to go to a dealership rather than buying online. This could be more expensive, or you could always negotiate a deal or just find the instrument you like and then buy online later.

My personal preference for digital pianos is Yamaha, though Roland and Casio also have decent offerings.

I hope that helps a bit. You might also like to ask his piano teacher what they recommend.